Spark Therapeutics (ONCE) Cut to “Neutral” at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Spark Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ONCE) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $60.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $62.00.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on ONCE. Royal Bank of Canada restated a buy rating on shares of Spark Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. ValuEngine cut shares of Spark Therapeutics from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets restated a buy rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Spark Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 15th. Raymond James Financial restated a buy rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Spark Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, December 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald set a $105.00 price target on shares of Spark Therapeutics and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, December 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $72.63.

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Spark Therapeutics (NASDAQ ONCE) traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $54.11. 464,600 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 749,765. The company has a market capitalization of $2,027.90, a PE ratio of -7.49 and a beta of 3.02. Spark Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $41.06 and a 12-month high of $91.75.

In other news, insider Katherine A. High sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.32, for a total value of $356,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 215,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,333,800. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 7.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Spark Therapeutics by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,848,988 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $164,986,000 after buying an additional 241,016 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Spark Therapeutics by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 207,360 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $18,489,000 after purchasing an additional 11,785 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Spark Therapeutics by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,053,734 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $122,689,000 after purchasing an additional 213,520 shares during the last quarter. Amundi Pioneer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Spark Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $5,286,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in Spark Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $13,519,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.87% of the company’s stock.

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Spark Therapeutics Company Profile

Spark Therapeutics, Inc is a gene therapy company. The Company focuses on treating orphan diseases. It has a pipeline of product candidates targeting multiple rare blinding conditions, hematologic disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. Its pipeline includes a product candidate targeting choroideremia (CHM), which is in a Phase I/II clinical trial and a product candidate for hemophilia A, which is in a Phase I/II clinical trial.